1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to a system for wrapping meat and other related products prior to cooking. More specifically, the system relates to an apparatus and method for insertion of a roast or other irregularly shaped food product into a preformed net truss which will receive and restrain the food product during the cooking process.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is desirable during the cooking of meats and other products to achieve an even and uniform application of heat to the product so that the food product will rise to the desired internal temperature in a uniform manner which is evenly distributed throughout. Unfortunately, most food products and more particularly, most meat products are butchered from naturally occurring muscle groups within the animal such that the meat sections are of unique and irregular geometries. Furthermore, it is sometimes necessary or desirable to combine independent sections of meat or other food products into a single combined mass for cooking. Lastly, it may be desirable to insert other non-uniform food products such as stuffing, vegetables or the like into the meat or other food product and cause the surrounding meat or food products to encompass or encircle the stuffed material during cooking. In each of these situations it is either necessary or desirable to form the meat product into the most uniform mass possible which also may contain the non-uniform or disparate food materials therein. In accordance with the prior art, it is well known to utilize various string or other elongated products, such as butcher's twine, to truss the food products. For the purpose of the remainder of this discussion, the generic term “roast” shall be used to identify all food products which are intended for cooking. It is to be specifically understood that roast shall include meats of all types as well as other non-meat food products which may be unitary in construction or comprised of a variety of independent meat or food components. Roast shall also be deemed to include those products which are rolled or stuffed in order to contain other non-meat products. Additionally, seasonings, flavorings or other additives may be applied to the outside surface of the food products.
Referring now to FIG. 1(a) roast 1 as illustrated in subfigure A is shown having a large roast end 5 and a narrow roast end 10. This is intended to illustrate a typical non-uniform cut of meat which, if cooked in its native form, would cause narrow roast end 10 to achieve a desired internal temperature much more quickly than large roast in 5. The cook is faced with the dilemma of dividing the meat into sections or achieving a desirable internal temperature at large roast end 5 while allowing narrow roast in 10 to be completed comparatively overcooked.
A typical remedy for achieving a more uniform roast geometry is to fold, slice or otherwise manipulate the roast product to create a more uniform shape as shown in subfigure B in which, as an example, narrow roast end 10 has been folded over adjacent large roast end 5. Butcher's twine 15 is wrapped circumferentially around roast 1 in order to restrain the various components or meat portions of roast 1. During the cooking process, as is well known to those skilled in the art, the butcher's twine 15 is manipulated through a series of knots 12 to create a meat truss 20 as shown in subfigure C. While subfigure B specifically illustrates a roast which has been folded and subfigure C illustrates a roast which has been rolled and may be stuffed with stuffing 13, it is also specifically intended that disparate meat components formed of individual meat sections may be combined and trussed with meat truss 20 as well. Flavorings, seasonings or other additives may be applied to the exterior surface.
As is well known to those skilled in the art, the wrapping and trussing of roast 1 is an operation which requires significant dexterity and practice in order to achieve consistent and uniform results. While such trussing may be commonplace among chefs and experienced cooks, for those of lesser skill and experience, this operation presents significant difficulties and in many cases a barrier to the preparation of roasts or food products of this nature.
In commercial or industrial meat packing operations it is also well known to utilize a pre-formed net, which may be elastomeric, to truss meats as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,477,860, issued Nov. 11, 1969, to M. A. Sartore, entitled “Method for Netting Meat.” This reference illustrates and describes a method and apparatus for providing an elastomeric preformed net which is adapted to receive and restrain the roast product in the desired uniform shape during cooking. The roast is inserted into the net through the use of a rigid preformed funnel which receives and compresses the roast to a size which easily fits within the preformed elastomeric netting. It also permits the easy insertion of the roast into the elastomeric netting by delivering the roast through the narrow end of the funnel into a far end of the elastomeric netting and allowing the movement of the roast through the funnel to draw the remainder of the preformed elastomeric netting across the length of the roast.
A variety of other references include a number of refinements for delivering a roast into such an elastomeric preformed net. Stock, U.S. Pat. No. 3,347,156 issued Oct. 17, 1967, describes an apparatus for preparing a trussed, boned fowl portion which includes the use of a particularly designed spatula which receives and restrains a meat portion already trussed in butcher's twine for insertion into an elastomeric net product. One of the shortcomings of the use of the elastomeric net product is the significant amount of friction encountered while inserting the roast product into the elastomeric net which is typically designed to exert an inward force on the exterior surface of the roast. Because of this design, overexpansion of the elastomeric net is necessary in order to reduce the resistance to the insertion of the roast product into the net. The Stock reference utilizes a preformed rigid frame which is inserted into the elastomeric net and permits the insertion of the roast utilizing the spatula.
The shortcomings of the above approaches to utilization of the elastomeric net product require a significant investment of both equipment and space in order to provide an insertion system for the roast which overcomes the inherent friction created by the elastomeric net. While it is certainly possible to merely force the roast into the net using an individual's hands, this generally defeats the ultimate purpose of creating a uniform and neatly packaged roast which will appear presentable once cooked for slicing and serving.
What is lacking in the art therefore, is a method or apparatus which permits the easy insertion of a roast into an elastomeric net product and which requires little in the way of bulky or expensive equipment unsuitable for home or restaurant use where the investment of such equipment would not be considered appropriate.